Syracosphaera molischii Schiller 1925

Archontikis, Odysseas A., Young, Jeremy R. & Cros, Lluïsa, 2020, Taxonomic Revision and Classification of Extant Holococcolithophores Previously Placed in the Genus Anthosphaera Kamptner emend. Kleijne 1991, Acta Protozoologica 59, pp. 121-139 : 125

Species Syracosphaera molischii Schiller 1925 HOL

Syracosphaera molischii Schiller 1925 var. molischii HOL

Synonymy: Anthosphaera fragaria (Kamptner) Kamptner 1937, p. 304 , Pl. 15, Fig. 20; Kamptner (1941), pp. 86, 106, Pl. 9, Figs. 89, 90a, b.

Helladosphaera fragaria (Kamptner) Gaarder (1962) , pp. 47, 48, Pl. 11, Figs. a, b; Norris (1984), p. 38.

Calyptrolithina fragaria (Kamptner) Norris (1985) , p. 625.

Anthosphaera fragaria Kamptner emend. Kleijne (1991) , p. 39, Pl. VIII, Figs. 3 –6; Aubry (1999), pp. 244–246, Figs. 1–3 ; Cros et al. (2000), Pl. 8, Fig. 1 ; Cros (2001), pp. 80, 101, Pl. 55, Figs. 1–3 and Pl. 84, Fig. 1 ; Cros and Fortuño (2002), p. 59, Figs. 86A, 86B; Young et al. (2003), p. 90, Plate 42, Figs. 1 , 4 ; Dimiza (2006), p. 82, Pl. XXVI, Figs. 1–3 ; Malinverno et al. (2008), p. 136, Fig. 108.

Syracosphaera molischii Schiller 1925 HOL, Trian- taphyllou et al. (2016), pp. 466–467, Figs. 5, 6.

Description: Coccosphere spherical, but usually seen collapsed, consisting of c. 60–70 BCs and c. 5–10 CFCs. BCs elliptical in shape forming a flat, well-devel- oped rim that is tightly connected to the central structure by a narrow perforate cycle with single-crystallite width perforations that are barely visible. CFCs possess an arched process with a large leaf-like extension; low- er part of leaf is composed of angular microcrystallites, upper part of smoother crystallites and distal margin is delicately serrated.

Dimensions: Coccosphere diameter c. 6–8 μm. BCs c. 1.1 μm long x 0.9 μm wide. CFCs c. 1.3 μm long, distal process c. 2.5 μm high.

Figures

Plate 3. Scale bars = 1μm 1–2. Syracosphaera lafourcadii (Lecal) Archontikis, Young, Cros comb. nov. HOL Complete coccospheres composed of CFCs that bear low distal processes (see arrows) and BCs with distal covers made of irregularly ar- ranged crystallites. 3–4. Syracosphaera origami (Cros and McGrane) Archontikis, Young, Cros comb. nov. HOL Coccospheres with highly ornamented CFCs showing triangle-shaped distal processes (fig. 3, arrow) and BCs with an organic base-plate in proximal view (fig. 4, arrow a) and a rim that supports delicate struts of crystallites holding the origami-like paper boat distal covers (fig. 4, arrow b) in distal view.

Fig. 1. Map of the sampling locations, where Anthosphaera was observed.

Fig. 2. Schematic representation and terminology of Anthosphaera coccosphere and holococcolith types.